Altered History: Echos on Oodsphere
by tkelparis
Summary: On another major journey the Doctor and Donna land on a planet of beings aware of him, but he doesn't know them. The danger compels him to reveal more about the past he is still fighting against, how he fears the Moment is still haunting him. And Donna sees reason to share his worries. Third in the Altered History ficverse.
1. Signs of a Bumpy Ride

**Title** : Altered History: Echos on Oodsphere

 **Genre** : Doctor Who

 **Rating** : T (violence, angst-ridden Doctor)

 **Author** : tkel_paris

 **Summary** : On another major journey the Doctor and Donna land on a planet of beings aware of him, but he doesn't know them. The danger compells him to reveal more about the past he is still fighting against, how he fears the Moment is still haunting him. And Donna sees reason to share his worries.

 **Disclaimer** : Imagine what might have been had the Movie turned into a series as originally intended. What else would have been? So... clearly not mine. Still.

 **Dedication** : cassikat, who kept pressing me to write more of this series. Thanks to Camp NaNoWriMo, I got started on this story when the others stalled hard. Although it took me a while to get cranking on it again.

 **Author's Notes:** Now the series starts providing more answers about the differences the Eighth Doctor's still being alive has caused, and the effects they have. And it's clearly leading toward more. And please, go back and read the first two stories, The Runaway Bride and Prophecies and Pompeii, before reading this one.

I suppose it's worth mentioning that some of the lines in the first chapter were influenced by both the Big Finish audio "Max Warp" and the BBC documentary "The Petrol Age". The former is an Eight and Lucie adventure set on a space station in the future, and involves both spaceships and a mystery. (Worth finding!) The latter is a four-part series all about British automotive history, and hosted by Paul McGann. I will admit that I originally watched it out of an idle curiosity about the history of cars and had discovered it via a YouTube search for stuff PM was in. While he definitely made it more enjoyable to watch and listen to, I think I would've still found it interesting with a different host; there's a lot of interesting history surrounding the evolution of the car.

And no, you won't find the full thing on YouTube anymore. I enjoyed it so much I may buy a copy. While Amazon Prime members can stream it, it isn't shown in the order I saw on YouTube, the order it was aired in. Oh, and the closed captioning is off. As in comically off.

 **Altered History: Echos on Ood Sphere**

 **Started April 24, 2017**

 **Unfinished as of original posting**

 **Chapter One: Signs of a Bumpy Ride**

 _The Vortex_

 _Time and Date Impossible to Determine – Even by the Time Lords_

"Are all random journeys this insane?! It's like an out of control roller coaster or Waltzer!"

The Doctor was not unused to hearing his companions react wildly to time eddies creating a difficult journey, or to loud reactions period. Yet Donna was the first to make _that_ comparison. And he was having almost as much trouble holding on to the controls as she was.

"We're nearly through!" he promised. "It's a just little time eddy."

" _Little_?!" she squawked.

"All right," he quickly conceded, sensing potential consequences if he didn't placate her a bit. "Not so little. More towards medium-"

"You better not be understating, Spaceman!" she cut him off crossly. "Someone could get sick from this!"

He winced. "I've seen everything from excitement on some companions' faces to becoming space-sick. Lucie nearly gave a spectacular demonstration of that once."

Suddenly they landed. It was not a hard landing, but enough of a jolt that they stumbled with the effort to keep on their feet.

Still, it was a relief that he could stand without holding on to something. "Okay, I set the controls to random before we started. So we're on the start of our mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide... Donna, are you alright?" he added, his excitement draining instantly in reaction to her pale and wild-eyed fright.

"Terrified," she admitted, turning to look at him. "I mean history's one thing and your birthplace is another, but an unknown alien planet in who knows what time?!"

"You're not thinking of going home, are you?" he asked, a bit uneasy at the thought and not sure why. "Not after all those promises that you'd be here?"

She scoffed, pointing at him in warning. "Don't. If I couldn't be scared off after you put the fear of God in my mum and then I nearly got buried alive in Pompeii after nearly being stabbed to death by twisted soothsayers, then this won't."

No, a woman who could face down the entire Gallifreyan senate without flinching – and be entirely in the right – was not easily scared off. Only Donna could have done that. Or would have. He smiled gently as he walked over to her side. "Donna, I know what it's like. Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder, and all those other feelings that pop up. I get all of that!"

Her mouth slackened. "Seriously?! After all this time? You're not taking the mickey of me, even after all those promises that you would avoid lying to me?"

He grinned impishly. "Why do you think I keep travelling the universe and time like I do? And lying to you? That's asking for another slap, isn't it?"

She squealed. "Oh! All right then, you and me both! This is barmy! I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. And now I'm here."

He laughed as he put his satchel over his shoulder. "And how would you describe it, Donna?" he asked, a hint of delighted laughter in his tone as he ran a last check of the outside.

"This is so… I mean it's…. I don't know, it's all sort of, I don't know what the word is!" With that she opened the door and exited. And promptly stopped still as her body registered the snowy surroundings. "I've got the word. Freezing!"

"Donna!" the Doctor cried as he rushed out after her. "It's quite cold out. You should-"

She shoved him further out. "Just for not checking on the temperature you can wait out here while I get my coat!"

"Well, well, well, in my defense-"

But Donna had closed the door. Sure, he had a key and could easily go inside. But he wasn't interested in risking the Oncoming Slap again.

"-you were in a big hurry. Come on, Old Girl," he groaned aloud. "You couldn't tell me the temperature before and save me the embarrassment of looking like I don't care in front of the one companion who would have no compunction about slapping me if I make a huge mistake?!"

The TARDIS chimed, evoking the tone of angelic singing.

He fought back a growl and turned to look out over the surroundings, glaring off in the distance. "That innocent whistling routine does not fool me. You had to pick _now_ to be temperamental?"

The door opened as he spoke. "Who's temperamental?"

The Doctor turned at the sound of Donna's voice and stilled. He knew he had hardly seen any of her clothing collection and rarely noted what his companions chose for themselves unless it was absolutely unsuitable for the historical period, but he blinked at the sight of Donna's thick coat and equally thick hood. He could not figure out her sense of style. Or any Earth woman's style, for that matter. "Well, Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, are you better now for standing on an unknown planet?"

"Lovely, thanks."

"Comfortable?"

"Yep."

"Can you hear anything inside that?" he asked, motioning at the lined hood.

"Pardon?" she answered, holding her hand up near her ear with a big smile.

He burst into laughter, unable to keep up the pretense. "May I assume that I'm forgiven?"

She let her grin grow. "This time, Spaceman."

"All right, as I was saying, citizen of the Earth-"

He cut himself off as they heard a rocket. Then a large spaceship loomed overhead, moving past them.

Once it was far enough that they did not need to yell to be heard, Donna grinned at him. "A rocket! Blimey, a real, proper rocket! You've got a blue box, he's got a flipping Ferarri! Come on, let's go and see where it's going!" she cried before hurrying after the rocket.

"A Ferrari?!" he exclaimed, hearing echoes of Lucie's teasing when they landed during a space exhibition. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Donna giggled at his tone as he caught up with her. "Oh, Doctor! You really are too easy to wind up!" She touched his arm gently and briefly, to calm him. "I merely mean that his looks impressive whereas the TARDIS could be easily underrated."

He scoffed, hands in his pockets and not quite letting go of the sting he felt. "You do realize that many people who have ships that big are compensating for something?"

If Lucie could hear him now. She would be laughing herself sick over him saying something she was far more likely to say.

She snorted. "Seen it with blokes with their sports cars. So some things don't change even across time and space, eh? Your own people are guilty of it. Pretending to be wiser than they really are in their case."

He thought back to that space exhibition with Lucie, and sighed. "Well, more of them might be about mid-life crises, as Lucie once reminded me. Although I can't argue the point about my people."

Donna eyed his face as they walked through the snow, silent as she pondered his words and tone. "Given how you last spoke of Lucie without the distraction of something else happening at the same time, that memory must be a good one."

His eyes whipped to meet hers. "What do you mean?"

This time when she touched his arm she maintained the contact for several seconds as she spoke. She had noticed that touch seemed to focus him on the present time. "Every other time you've mentioned her, it was either while we were in the middle of something and so you were a bit distracted by frustration or something else. Or you were full of remembered grief. There you almost seemed happy despite still missing her. I assume she teased you as much as I do?"

A smile slowly cracked his tense face, and the relaxing effect of her words and touch radiated through his body. "She did. I wasn't used to a teenager on the cusp of adulthood challenging me as she liked to. And yes, she set the bar very high. You're up there with her, even after only a linear month."

Donna tried to not let on how pleased the comparison made her; praise from him meant something. "Must not have been around many women from my time-frame, then. How long has it been since...?"

The Doctor had to give her a silent look of thanks for not saying the full sentence. "Almost 50 years, by your measure of time. Some days the pain is as strong as it was when it happened."

"That's grief. It comes and goes in waves. Eventually we learn to cope and adjust, although some refuse to think it'll happen. It never goes away completely, and yet we can be happy again. However unlikely it seems. I still miss my gran and my dad's parents, but it's no reason to let it consume my life. They wouldn't have wanted that for me, and I doubt Lucie would want you to keep mourning her forever."

His eyes widened as his gaze returned to in front of him.

Donna waited a few seconds to let that sink in before she continued their walking chat. "So... tell me about this memory. What did she say or do?"

He chuckled, coming out of the little shock she gave him. "Well, she accused me of being a rubbish date when I landed us amongst 'boys with toys', as she put it. Took almost every chance to prod me about my interest in boosters or my saying that we were looking at the latest and greatest in spaceship designs."

"I wonder what you'd be like at a car show," Donna mused with a smirk before playfully nudging him with her elbow. "I can see you wanting to be like those early car drivers, wearing piloting goggles as you tried breaking the land speed record."

He laughed, neither confirming nor denying it.

"Are you more of a classic cars or vintage-?"

She cut herself off when the Doctor suddenly stopped and looked around with big eyes. He seemed unfocused, like he was placing something that hit him right then. All traces of growing joy had vanished in an instant.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, quiet yet urgent. "Donna, take your hood down!"

Donna drew up next to him and lowered her hood. "What? I don't hear anything."

"An erie music, like a song. It's coming from that way," he said, leading her.

She followed him for a bit, keeping up until he suddenly sped up. "Here!" he cried, kneeling before an alien unlike anything Donna ever imagined. The head looked almost like a pale, pink-like version of the characterizations of Martians in movies, except for where the mouth ought to be. She saw little tentacles instead, and an opaque ball was attached by a wire to the grey suit covering the partly snow-buried being.

"What is that?" Donna blurted out, holding back in disgusted shock.

"Donna, he's dying," he scolded her as he ran the medical probe over the being. "Although I don't know what he is. I've never met his species before."

"Sorry," she said, kneeling next to the being. "Can you help him?"

"I'm trying! I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's got a heart. This scanner isn't giving me the information I need! Talk to him, keep him going."

"Doctor."

They both started as they noticed the globe in his hand glow as he spoke, but the Doctor was the one who spoke. "Yes, I'm a doctor of sorts."

"Yes, just what you need, a doctor. Couldn't be better, hey?" Donna said.

The being moved the hand holding the globe. "No. You are the Doctor."

"You know who I am?" he asked, eyes widening. "Who are you? What is your species?"

"I am an Ood. Designated Ood Delta 50."

Donna picked up the globe, talking into it like a microphone. "My name's Donna."

"I don't think you need to do that, Donna," the Doctor said absently, trying to solve the new mystery while placing what he had heard about the Ood. "You've been shot."

"Doctor, the circle..."

"No, don't try to talk," Donna urged.

"The circle must be broken," Delta 50 said, insistent.

The Doctor was baffled. "Circle? What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle?"

There was no answer. The Ood just looked right at him, blinking slowly.

"Delta 50? What circle?"

The Ood suddenly sat up, roaring as his eyes glowed red.

"Get back!" the Doctor shouted, dragging Donna away and getting between her and the Ood. But then Delta Ood 50 collapsed, the red leaving his eyes completely as he stilled.

"He's gone," Donna breathed. She gently pushed her way in front of the Doctor.

"Careful, Donna. I don't know what caused that, but what just happened cannot be good," the Doctor insisted.

But Donna just knelt beside the Ood, stroking his head. "There you are, sweetheart. We were too late."

He watched in awe as she posed the Ood's hands in a more formal gesture. Her practiced manner was enough to make him wonder how recent her other grandparents' deaths had been, or if she had lost siblings. This was a woman almost as practiced in losing people as he was, if he wasn't exaggerating in his mind.

Donna looked up at him. "What do we do, do we bury him?"

"The snow will take care of that," he gently told her. "Perhaps we'll locate his people and they can come for him."

She had to accept that. Donna paused a few extra seconds for a silent prayer for the Ood before standing.

"Come on," he whispered, holding out his hand. He was not surprised that she took it readily. It was rather cold for someone of her body temperature and he expected she would pull her hand free to remain warm inside her coat pocket, like the other was doing.

She held his hand for at least two minutes more than he expected, her feet not moving from her vigil over the Ood. Yet she was absolutely silent, something he could only name one or two times she was like that around him.

He sighed when she finally retracted her hand for the warmth of a pocket. "It doesn't seem natural for you to be this quiet," he reflected aloud, tucking his own hand in for warmth.

Donna took a deep breath, not wanting to talk about her or his habits. "Why did his eyes go all red? And who could have done that, shot him?"

"I suppose we've found why the TARDIS chose here as our random destination. Or at least the opening chapter."

"If she chose it, then how is it random?"

"Seemingly random until we discovered what trouble she noticed," he rephrased.

"Well caught, Doctor. So what are these Ood when they're at home? Or is this one species you know little about?"

"I've heard references to them, but I suspect the sources were negatively biased. Mildly telepathic species. That was the song I heard. His mind was calling out for help."

"I couldn't hear anything. Guess I'm clearly not telepathic."

"Few Humans naturally are."

"So he 'sang' as he was dying. How do the Ood and Humans cross paths?"

"I don't remember. Even if I did, I'm not sure I would have interpreted the sources correctly. History is written through two biases, the writer and the writer's culture, and interpreted through two more, your culture's and your own."

"It's also written by the victor, and places blame on the vanquished. So much of the history being taught is still rife with those mistakes. I doubt your people are immune to it. Although... given how different you are from your people, both to hear you tell it and from what little I saw of Gallifrey, I imagine yours would be a bit unusual. You still need to correct the record so they acknowledge you for being Lord President."

He had to smile at the dryness of her remark, even as he hid the cringe at the thought of fighting to have his three different faces preserved in marble. "You might be giving me more credit than I deserve. As you've noticed I can miss the details that make up the big picture."

"But you see the big picture and potential consequences. So... what consequences are we facing today?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. And I suppose we're here to find out. Usually when you see something like that, there's some force, like a stronger mind powerful enough to take them over."

"Then we're keeping toward where that rocket went?"

"Yes. Maybe then we'll find out why he seemed possessed at the end there. I hope this isn't another time I have to worry about something influencing things in my path."

"You mean... that weapon you defeated? But how could she still cause trouble?"

"Very easily. She already has."

Donna stopped short. "What?!"

 **/=/=/=/=/**


	2. Crashing Into the Future

**Chapter 2 Note** : I updated Chapter 1. Please reread before going forward. Sorry for the delay. Still working on the rest.

/=/=/=/

 **Chapter Two: Crashing Into the Future**

 _March 4, 2004_

 _East London, England_

"I said to land _outside_ at _street level_. Why are you insisting on setting down _inside_ and near the _roof of the building?!_ "

The TARDIS gave no answer other than a whine through her normal noises.

The Doctor sighed and leaned forward. "You detect Nestene energy, and then park rather close to it? Shouldn't that put us in danger?" He paused a moment, and then shrugged. "I suppose it might make things easier. Although I've never dealt with them all alone before. Well, a first time for everything."

He had lost track of how long he had been alone since he finally put the long series of adventures and disasters after his battle with the Moment behind him. Or rather, he hoped the latter series of events _were_ behind him; he sensed someone with a time signature that made his skin crawl was following him on some of those adventures. Not that he wished to think about it, especially with a new danger. He focused instead on the readings as he indulged his bad habit of thinking aloud to himself.

"Since the Nestene home was damaged by the beginnings of the skirmishes that could have been the Time War and there are still time pockets of trouble, but why would they be all the way out here right now? Is there any connection with the rather Humanized ones who thought they were in Thorington? I thought they were more than ready to just live their lives."

His eyes darkened with shadows. "Unless those military types decided to make them work for them. I wouldn't put it past that commander. But with the Cold War over and Uzbekistan independent again, how would they be here in London four years _before_ those events? And more to the point, _where_ in London am I?"

The readings gave him a general idea. "East London, but very little about exactly where I am." He shrugged. "This is going to be just like most adventures; not enough information at the start. And occasionally not much more at the end, either. Very well. Time to go and stop as much destruction as possible."

He put on his satchel, checked the readings for any life-signs or indications of active Nestene beings, and then exited the ship when the coast seemed clear. Once he closed the doors he looked around. No sign of anyone – Human or otherwise. He walked slowly through, listening intently and scanning with eyes and sonic.

In the next room he stopped still. "This can't be that easy. Is that a Nestene relay?"

The rectangular object with flashing lights and a familiar sound was right in the open. Like it was daring anyone to touch it.

"Will luck be with me?" the Doctor pondered aloud. "Or is it a trap? Okay, here goes." He ran the sonic over it, checking for how it worked.

Several seconds later he was frowning. "No signal. No sign of the Nestene itself. So they're not here, but this is being prepared for something. And this won't respond to the sonic at all. Oh, dear. And I have no explosives on me. Wish I'd kept some of Ace's Nitro-9 in the TARDIS after all. Better go and see what else they have in here."

With that he also drew out an additional scanner to look for any signs of animation or other life. He moved as quickly as he dared.

"Okay, this is a warehouse of some sort," he mused quietly after an over two-hour investigation that led him to the basement. "But for what purpose? This isn't secure enough to be a weapons facility, or any military installation. So why are the Nestene here? They need plastic to animate."

"It has mannequins."

How did he miss another person being there?! The rough male voice behind him made him whip around and then he stilled as a familiar scent hit him. His eyes went huge. "Oh, hello."

Not that he knew the man by sight. The taller man, with stern blue eyes, stood in his dark trousers and green jumper covered by a dark coat. The leather look and short hair felt like a continuation of the look that the Doctor chose after his ordeal on Gallifrey and was still, although it looked different on the other man. (Never mind that the Doctor had grown back his hair, albeit much shorter than before.) But the sight of what had to be a sonic device in the other man's hand would have suggested who he was.

The man gave a tight grin, with a hint of amusement. "Hello, Me. I see you missed the stacks and rails of clothing to see this is a shop. Although these places were never our thing, were they?"

It confirmed what his nose and time senses told him. Although he wasn't sure what he thought of the attitude. And the accent made him force thoughts of Lucie away; while not identical any Northern accent was enough to make his hearts clench. "Which regeneration are you?"

"Ten," the other him answered, after a brief pause – as if considering how much to say. "The one after the one who was supposed to end the War. Had it gone through as... a certain being wanted, I would've claimed to be the Ninth Doctor and denied the previous me's existence."

"Given the visions I've had about what would have happened I'm not surprised. So why are there two of us here? Since you have my memories, you must know."

Ten rolled his eyes. "Can't say. You know how Time Crashes mess with our memories," he declared as he walked deeper into the warehouse, forcing Eight to follow if he wanted to keep talking. "Remembering something too soon creates dangerous paradoxes and other fantastic problems. You know that. It's why we sometimes choose to forget things until the memories are needed."

Eight grimaced as he proceeded cautiously. "So I become more charming with age. Brilliant."

"Nothing like some good old insults from a previous incarnation," Ten tossed over his shoulder with a manic grin. "Although our first regeneration was the best at it. The next two regenerations certainly gave him plenty to mock."

Echoes of the words 'clown' and 'dandy' rang through Eight's mind, and a tiny smile briefly cracked through his dark mood. Not the least because there could be some dispute over which name applied to Two and Three, respectively. "I can only imagine what that version would have made of our Fourth or Sixth regenerations' clothes." After all, Four had barely been present during the Time Crash involving the first five of them. Their Sixth regeneration would have earned any (and every) insult the First had cared to toss his way, despite being the only one of them who could have carried off that look. Eight refused to think about the other reasons Six would have earned One's scorn; it was too soon to go there even in thought. "So... what _is_ going on? Why are the Nestene here this time? And why are we both here?"

"I have my suspicions. Must be some meddling that was supposed to match what was to be. You being here is the change; it was originally just this me. Although I do remember enough from your earlier scans that I was able to check in from another side of the building. Means I'm better prepared to finish the job. What brought you here?"

"I detected Nestene energy on Earth. Tracking it brought me here. If you landed on the outside is that why I couldn't land outside like I tried to?"

"Probably. The TARDIS hates being too near another version of her, and you know it."

It was Eight's turn to roll his eyes. "And how does that help us send the Nestene off, and figure out why two of us are needed?"

"Hello?"

The single word echoed from a distance inside a nearby room. A young, east London female accent, tinged with nervousness.

But to the Doctors it was like a gunshot. Ten dropped his sonic as his head whipped towards the sound.

Eight's face went pale, almost drowned by his eyes as he stumbled over some boxes. It drowned the noise the sonics and the scanner made from falling, although he felt Ten's hands grab him before he could cause any other noise by crashing into more items. "How can _she_ be here?" he whispered. "She's in the TARDIS. How could she have got out?!"

Once he was sure Eight was stable enough to stand, Ten leaned over with his own scanner for a look into the open doorway. He kept one eye on the target in question as he checked the readings. "Scanner says it's a Human girl, close to 17 years old," he whispered. "And although the accent is different and the hair calmer... she has the same face."

As he spoke, the girl's voice filtered over, obscured by his words.

"You think she wouldn't be capable of changing things to fool us?" Eight snapped, the whisper carrying a sharp bite.

"Just reminding you to act with caution," Ten shot back.

Eight's shoulders went rigid as his face tightened. "Pot, meet Kettle."

"Is there someone mucking about?!" the girl's voice yelled, like a whip snapping.

The scanner picked up something else. Both Doctors looked around and realized they had something more pressing than the possibility that the Moment had somehow reformed her body. The mannequins inside the glass displays in the hallway began twitching and they could see some moving more freely inside the room.

"Nestene," Eight breathed. "They've started the process."

"Which means we need to move fast," Ten noted as they listened to the sounds of the girl fleeing the mannequins and stumbling over items. "And it's better that a teenager's body isn't found here. They've already killed one person."

"What if it's a chance to rid-"

"It's too soon in the timeline."

"What?!"

Ten glared at him. "Our chance will come, but it's not today. Now, get ready to help me fend them off in case it takes longer than I expect. And my being here might disarm her if it _is_ her since I'm the one she expects. As soon as I tell her to run, head for the lift directly down that corridor," he added, pointing to the west side. "You get it ready to move as soon as we join you."

With that he slipped inside the room.

"I hope you're right," Eight muttered as he checked behind them. He did not trust that the display cases were enough to hold the Nestene inside and had his sonic at ready.

A few tense seconds later he heard the girl suck in a breath, and Ten say, "Run!"

Eight burst into a sprint. He could hear two sets of footsteps follow him promptly, but he did not look behind him. The sight of the mannequins inside the containers trying to get out was enough. Shame the energy source was too far away to be deactivated from here.

The lift came into view, but not soon enough for Eight's taste. He aimed the sonic at the controls to make the doors open, which they did just as he arrived. He slipped right through and readied for closing them. "Come on!" he bellowed, holding them open with the sonic's steady pulse.

He saw Ten leading a terrified blonde girl at a run, and the mannequins were closing in. As they got close enough Eight prepared the doors to close, and he released his thumb off the sonic the instant Ten shoved the girl inside.

Naturally one mannequin got close enough to shove an arm into the closing doorway. The girl screamed, but Ten blithely grabbed the arm and, with a few seconds' effort, tugged it off. The doors closed promptly and the lift finally moved.

"At last," Eight muttered under his breath. "Hope that was enough to make it breathe its last."

Although whether a Nestene truly breathed was a good question. And from which part of the body? The arm? Or a place where the sun did not shine, to use a crude phrase?

"You tore his arm off!" the girl cried in shock.

"Yep," Ten answered, scanning the arm with his eyes for any traps. "Plastic." He tossed it to her.

With the destination already set for the street level, Eight risked a direct look at the girl who made his arm hairs stand on end and his skin crawl. She had the same face and eyes as the Moment, but the hair was not quite as wild and the expression was terror turning into indignation. Very like the teenager she physically appeared. And the accent wasn't the same; the Moment spoke with a tiny lisp that this girl did not have. Was that a good sign or were they being lulled into a false sense of security?

"Very clever," the girl said, looking at the arm. "Who was that? Was it students?"

"Why would they be students?" the Doctors asked simultaneously.

Eight glanced at Ten in surprise, but the latter just motioned with his eyes to let him handle this.

The girl only then seemed to noticed Eight, and she blinked in confusion. Although she only hesitated to answer for a few seconds. "Because... to get that many people dressed all silly, got to be students."

"Obviously you've never been part of one of those charity fundraisers that seem all the rage. So those were students with plastic faces and an arm that can be torn off?" Eight asked witheringly, finding little comfort in the lack of recognition in her eyes. "How would they breathe?"

Ten hid a smirk from the girl, but not from his earlier self. "Creative guess, but they're not students. As my friend here noted."

"Well, whoever they are, Wilson will call the police on them," the girl declared.

"Who's Wilson?" asked Eight.

"The chief electrician."

"Wilson's dead," Ten said as the lift stopped and opened. He stepped out.

Oh, Eight thought. That explained the earlier comment. He promptly followed, wanting some distance between himself and the girl.

"That's not funny! That's sick!" the girl cried, following them out.

"Mind your eyes," Ten said as he used his sonic to ensure they couldn't be followed. He only stopped when sparks flew, signaling he'd jammed the equipment.

Eight noted through his own sonic that the lift would no longer go down, but was ready to go to the roof. At speed.

"My friend and I will finish this. You need to leave," Ten added, walking towards a door he found earlier.

"Wait! Who were those people?!" the girl hollered as she followed right behind Ten.

"They're made of plastic," Ten answered without looking at her. "Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof. Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this," he added, showing a device he whipped out of his pocket.

Eight knew immediately what it was, and that they only had so long to use it. But he had to know one thing. While Ten spoke, he tugged the Seal out of his pocket and held it very near her for a split second.

"Ow!" she squealed, looking his way.

But he had already put it away, frowning the whole while. Static shock, that was what her reaction looked like. Not exactly what he was expecting. Why would she react that way?

"So!" Ten exclaimed, opening a door marked 'fire exit'. He saw what Eight did and immediately captured the girl's attention. "We're going to go up there and blow them up, and we might well die in the process. But don't worry about us, no. Go home, go on! Go and have your lovely beans on toast," he chivied her out onto the street, not wincing visibly at any time. "And don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."

He closed the door on her, and Eight breathed easier. "Come on, let's finish this."

Ten paused as he fiddled with the explosive device. "Wait. Something's missing. Ah!" He suddenly opened the door again. "I'm the Doctor. You are?"

"Rose," came the soft answer.

"Lovely to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!" he declared, waving the device a little before slamming the door and sonic-locking it.

"Why did you do that?!" Eight hissed at him.

"This way," Ten said as he led them on a run back to the lift. "Because like it or not, we're going to meet her again. Best to let her think we think she's a mere Human teenager, whether she is one or not."

"You mean you don't know if she is or isn't-?"

"Timelines, Doctor," Ten interrupted as they rushed inside the lift. "Help me out here."

As their sonics teamed up to force the lift to the top level faster than the engineers would ever have planned, Ten continued explaining. "Something important is settling into place and I don't dare mess with it. My past – that's your future – could be destroyed if I do. That girl was part of our time line from the start, back before Time was changed by you, and she has a role to play."

Eight's eyes widened in horror. "And you're the poor sod who has to deal with her." He winced. "How lovely to know that's all coming my way."

"Less worrying about her, more getting rid of Nestene. Come on! Two sonics will work faster than one when we get to the roof!"

"Is the unit I found earlier what we need to stop?"

The doors opened. "Thankfully, yes!" Ten rushed in and attached the device to the main power source on the box. "No way to avoid the damage to the building. Only way to destroy this relay. Attempt to move it and we risk turning on the entire signal at full strength."

"And we're not ready for it, not even knowing where they are."

Ten avoided answered directly. "Help me here. Setting two-twenty-two!"

"About five seconds," Eight added as they both aimed.

The timer set and beeped.

"Time to leave!" Ten boomed.

"My TARDIS is close. Come on!"

The Doctors bolted to the side room where Eight landed. He had his key out and opened the doors faster than ever before, practically flying inside.

Ten scowled as he closed the doors behind him without looking. "Ah. I remember this. Gave the word 'Gothic' a bad reputation."

"You should remember that the repairs and changes remained a low priority since the near Time War," Eight snapped as he began the dematerization sequence. "You going to help?"

"Yes." Ten said no more as he helped smooth the escape from the first explosions outside. "And I need to guide you closer to my ship whilst avoiding Rose. Given where I made her exit she might pass by it. Give it a few minutes in Earth time."

"Or I could materialise around or inside yours."

"Let's not. Time is in enough flux."

Eight glared at his future self. "Still?!"

"Key times in your future and my past are far too unsteady for my tastes. So we need to avoid making things worse. Besides, I remember your offer and my refusal. I just understand my grounds for it now."

"Ah. Well, did we send the Nestene off?"

Ten shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. The main source is yet to be found, so we need to keep looking."

"And you're going to see this... Rose again soon?"

Ten scowled. "Tomorrow, I think. And don't think your part in this is done yet. If we're both here then we're both needed."

"But if only one was needed before, why two of us now?"

"Those changes because you stopped the Time War," Ten said as they landed near his TARDIS. "There are some people who now need a little extra help, and they won't get it if there's only me. Now, keep an eye on the Internet for any searches about us."

"The internet?! How did we make it onto there?!"

"Evidently Humans are more diligent and stubborn than we thought," Ten answered, frustration dripping like drops off a soaked St Bernard. "Like it or not, we're becoming less of a legend and more common knowledge. Fortunately most still think we're nothing more than stories passed down through the ages. But soon enough... it'll be more challenging to hide. We have to learn to blend in even more, which means being wiser about our companions."

Eight scoffed. "I hope you don't mean that we have to accept-"

"You don't," Ten snapped, grimacing. "And best you know as little about that as possible. I already feel like I know more than I should, but at least I have hope waiting for me back home. See ya!" he waved as he exited on a run.

"Wait!"

But the doors were closed before he could move.

The Doctor groaned. "So I become a dark grouch, but at least I can run faster. And I won't be pushed around so easily. Good to know I'll get some height and muscle."

A chime told him that the other TARDIS had departed safely.

"Good. Good, good. So... back to hiding... and waiting. Who or what could I possibly be looking for?"

The rest of his thoughts he chose to keep silent.

 _And what does a girl that stupid have to do with us? What is the Moment playing at? Given how she's become debilitated when I show the Seal to her I was expecting her to collapse out there. If she were really Human it ought to have had no effect on her even with direct contact. And it's not made of materials that produce static electricity. So why did that happen?!_

"I probably won't like the answers when I find them," he mused aloud after several seconds' silence.

 **/=/=/=/=/**


	3. Going For Answers

Sorry for the long delay. Hearing that my friend BMG wasn't feeling well prodded me to post this. I have two more chapters which I expect to be ready to go soon. However, I'm going to work on this and one or two other series' during NaNoWriMo, so you'll have even more soon.

/=/=/=/=/

 **Chapter Three: Going For Answers**

 _The Year 4126 CE_

 _Ood Sphere_

Donna's eyes widened as she heard the story. "You just assumed this girl who looked like the Moment was her reborn?"

The Doctor winced at his friend's tone. He hated being challenged so shrilly. "There are no such things as coincidence, Donna."

"There are people who look alike, and they're not related at all. When I was five I saw someone the splitting image of Granddad. Shocked me when I called out to him and he didn't answer. There have to be people who happen to look like me in my time on Earth. Never met any of them, but a few people on my travels said they knew someone who looked just like me."

"Those are superficial. I'm talking about senses that go beyond anything Humans can typically sense in your time. As I was saying, she sounded like the Moment and she reacted with a light shock to the Seal. There has to be a connection."

"If you're going to take the mickey, I'll put my hood back up!"

They heard sounds, interrupting their budding argument.

"Hmm," the Doctor mused. "Sounds like civilisation. Shall we?"

Not far away they discovered some buildings with the name Ood Operations on the sides.

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Donna said.

"Well, they'll have the answers we seek. Ready to tell a lie to learn to truth?"

She managed a little smile. "I guess you're going to lead the way?"

"Just to be sure you're safe. Or if they insist on the man leading. Can't cause a revolution before we have answers. Now I think I see a tour group we can slip right into, if we hurry."

"I'm game. If we need to name a fake company we represent, may I name it?"

The Doctor shrugged with a grin. "Can't hurt."

She laughingly accepted his offered hand and let him lead.

/=/=/=/=/

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ood Sphere. And isn't it bracing?" announced the dark-haired woman who greeted a group of about fifteen through the snow-covered area. All were bundled properly against the cold, and they were attentive.

She quickly passed out materials. "Here are your information packs, with vouchers, 3D tickets and a map of the complex. My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vidfone. Now, if you'd like to follow me."

 _"_ Sorry, sorry, sorry!" the Doctor said as he and Donna rushed up. "We're tardy. Don't mind us. Hello! The guards let us through."

 **"** And you would be?" asked the woman, not entirely suspicious.

 _The Doctor had the psychic paper ready. "_ The Doctor and Donna Noble."

"Representing the Noble Corporation PLC Limited, Intergalactic," said Donna, smooth as you please – as though she hadn't just thought of the fake company name right then.

 **Solana's face grew chagrined. "** Must have fallen off my list, my apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Dr Noble, Mrs Noble, if you'd like to come with me."

Both of the time travelers started. "Oh, um, we're not married!" the Doctor said awkwardly.

 **"** We're so not married," Donna said at the same instant.

She would have added more if the Doctor hadn't subtly touched her arm. He had learned that too much protesting sometimes backfired, and a tiny shake of the head from him clued her that it was best to stop.

 **Solana shrugged off their words as if she was not convinced, but she was too polite – and well-trained – to challenge paying customers. "** Of course. And here are your information packs, vouchers inside. Now if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm."

 _As the group walked toward the door, a piercing sound wailed._

 **Donna frowned. "** That sounds like an alarm."

"Quite," the Doctor muttered, eyes scanning in suspicion.

At last they were inside, nice and warm. A huge screen showed images of Ood Operations flashing behind. The Doctor and Donna stood to the side as they watched Solana give her demonstration.

"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double O - that's Ood Operations - we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends. We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated. We don't just breed the Ood. We make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood, but a reflection of us? If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy, too."

Donna kept a frown off her face, but she was pensive. And she was just attuned enough to the Doctor to tell he was skeptical of the words as well.

"I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations," Solana continued, walking to where three Ood stood in a row. "We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the Standard Setting." She turned to the Ood next to her. _"_ How are you today, Ood?"

The first Ood picked up his translator ball from the attachment area of his uniform and held it smoothly up. "I'm perfectly well, thank you."

 **Solana nodded and the Ood returned it to its previous place as she moved to the next one. "** Or perhaps, after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen. And how are you, Ood?" she addressed the second.

"All the better for seeing you," said the second Ood, but the voice was a sultry female's.

Donna shared a disgusted look with the Doctor.

"And the comedy classic option," Solana continued before turning to the third Ood. _"_ Ood, you dropped something."

 _The Ood's voice was a cartoon character's: "_ Doh!"

 _The reps laughed uproariously. They and Solana remained unaware of Donna's lack of amusement and the Doctor's puzzled expression. The representative kept up her spiel. "_ All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so, don't hold back."

 _She walked away to applause, which the Doctor and Donna joined out of keeping their cover. He waited for her and the others to walk far enough away before he walked to the control board. Donna followed and watched he worked the controls._

 _"What was that sound at the end, Donna? You recognised it."_

 _"I suppose American cartoons aren't a Gallifreyan thing. I forget the name of the show, but that's the dad character. Portrayed on the dumb side and obsessed with donuts, with the belly to match. That was the sound he made when he knew he'd made a mistake. I saw it on one of the Sky import channel re-airings a few times between temp contracts. On my_ _ _rare__ _days off. So... where and when are we?"_

 _"_ _Let's see what type of star system we're in and that will tell us a lot," he quietly remarked. Soon it was on the big screen._ **"** Ah! Ood Sphere, I've been to this system before many ages ago in another life, the first me to call himself 'the Doctor'. The planet Sense Sphere." He chose to not mention learning that Lucie had met the Senorites when the Monk convinced her to travel with him. Or that the Monk taking her to meet them before when his earlier self had was extra clever in a twisted way, seeing as the First Doctor's meeting them was the first _anyone_ knew of the Senorites. Including Time Lords.

"Let's widen out to see when we are," he said, wanting a distraction from his thoughts. _After a little fiddling he had his answer as a slew of systems appeared on the screen. "_ The year is 4126. We're looking at the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"4126. It's 4126. I'm in 4126," Donna breathed.

"Quite the difference from those package holidays you mentioned," he absently commented, focused on the readings.

 **"** What's the Earth like now?"

"Rather full. But as you see, the Empire stretches out across three galaxies."

 **Donna looked at the screen, transfixed. "** It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but... Back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming. Flooding. I even heard that all the bees are acting funny, starting to disappear."

 **That got the Doctor's attention. "They are?"**

"But look at us!" Donna marveled, not quite hearing. "We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers? Or more like a virus?"

 **He paused, lips pursed. His sense of self-preservation had become stronger after Grace clobbered him with his own mallet, although he had failings every so often. Even though she had been suddenly possessed thanks to the Master spitting on her earlier. But Donna was sharpening his instincts, and they now screamed a warning. "Am I supposed to answer that?"**

 _Some details on the screen caught Donna's eye even as she glared at the Doctor. "For later," she warned him before refocusing. "_ What are the red dots?"

 **The Doctor checked, grateful for the breather from a Donna lecture, and frowned at the answer. "** Ood distribution centres."

"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" she asked before walking _to the Ood standing nearest to them, the first Ood Solana had approached. "_ Um, sorry, but..."

The Ood seemed unaware, and she hesitated as she thought about how to get his attention. She settled for touching his shoulder lightly.

When it worked, she smiled. "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

 **The Ood picked up his translator ball and it lit as he answered, just as it had for Delta 50. "** I do not understand, Miss."

"Why do you say 'Miss', do I look single?" Donna almost snapped.

 **"** Back to the point, Donna," the Doctor reminded her, having turned off the screen and come to her side within seconds.

 **"** Yeah," she muttered, acknowledging his reminder. "What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere? Like wildebeest."

"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise, we would die."

 **Donna blinked, shaking her head slightly. "** But you can't have started like that. Before the humans, what were you like?"

 _The Ood moved his head as if confused. Then he suddenly spoke. "_ The circle."

"What do you mean? What circle?" the Doctor asked.

 _Speech seemed to come with difficulty to the Ood. "_ The circ... the circle... is..."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" burst Solona's voice into their awareness, snapping the Ood to attention. "All Ood to hospitality stations, please."

The Ood put his ball away as he followed his cohorts.

 **The Doctor shook his head. "Don't know about you, but** I've had enough of the schmoozing. I noticed the maps tells more than Miss Solana realizes," he whispered, drawing a map from his jacket. "What do you say to going off the beaten track?"

 **In the background Solana continued, "** Now, if I can introduce you..."

 **But Donna ignored her as she grinned at her friend. "** Rough guide to the Ood-Sphere? Works for me!"

"And me," he grinned back. He glanced for an opening. "They're distracted. Come on!"

They slipped back outside, using the map to locate their next step.

"Hopefully this is better than that other time you had to sneak around," Donna remarked after several minutes. "It's not like there's some girl who's a threat here."

"Solana might be. Don't underestimate her," he said as he _sonicked a fence open._

"Ood shift eight, now commencing," they heard over loudspeakers. "Repeat, Ood shift eight now commencing."

 _They climbed some stairs to look over into one of the fenced areas. Dozens of Ood were marching through the yard in a very forced manner. One of them fell to his knees as if exhausted. A man with a whip rushed up to the Ood, and used it repeatedly._

 _"_ Get up! I said get up!" the man shouted until _the Ood managed to get back to his feet._

 **Donna's mouth had fallen open. "** Servants? They're slaves."

 **"** Get up! March!" bellowed the overseer.

 **The Doctor stared in horror. "All those stories... it makes sense. And what one of my future selves muttered about them... Oh, dear. He saw them at some point before this in this planet's timeline. And he could do nothing to help."**

"That's not like you."

 **He started at Donna's words, feeling a little warm as he cleared his throat uncomfortably in the face of her stunned yet trusting expression. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I'm not perfect. I've seen people suffer because** I was busy. And the future me spoke like he was so busy he couldn't save them, that he had to let the Ood he encountered die. Well, I owe them one for that. Even if it hasn't happened for me yet."

 _Four Humans, including two guards and one man better dressed than any, walked the now empty path in the yard. One Ood trailed behind them, as if attached by some invisible string._

 **"** That looks like the boss," Donna whispered, nodding at the suit.

"And we'll keep out of his way. Better not run into unwanted company. I have history with that. Although I'm better about picking the times they happen. Come on."


End file.
